Wilmington, North Carolina-based illustrator Lauren Yates is inspired by nature and a love for organic shapes, textures and colors. Her representational style is just what Bobby Zimmerman, owner of True Blue Butcher and Table, wants to represent the customer experience at his beloved local restaurant. Starting with a digital illustration, Lauren creates a mixed media diptych that captures a feeling of community and the dreamy, nostalgic feel of the special memories made at True Blue.

Painter William Paul Thomas questions what it might look like if internal conflict and trauma showed clearly on our skin. Would it invite people to be kinder to each other? William’s Cyanosis series represents everyday people of color through this lens - showing adversity in their complexion through the color blue. Follow his journey as William creates a commissioned portrait for filmmaker Seneca Modest that fuses the narrative of an upcoming film with William’s powerful style.

Acrylic painter and full-time art teacher Monique Cleveland embraces the idea of being courageous in her work, and draws inspiration from her close-knit family and students. Known for her focus on femininity and form, Monique’s art celebrates the positive representation of African American women, children and families. Now she’s stepping out of her comfort zone and applying her unique style to create an abstract floral that fuses masculine colors with a feminine theme to symbolize marriage, prosperity and love.

Mixed media resin artist Amanda Moody describes her work as colorful and fluid. Her special technique of adding materials between layers of resin coating creates floating shapes and a three-dimensional effect that, to many observers, feels like cloud-watching or meditation. For her latest commission, Amanda is experimenting with applying a tropical-inspired palette of oranges and reds in her signature style to a large aluminum panel that will grace the home office of family friends.

Muralist J Massullo is known for a graphic style that could grace the covers of heavy metal albums, but is built on years of developing his masterful spray painting technique. His first mural for Roshambo Beverage Co. draws so much interest that owner Jimmy is ready to add a second work inspired by J’s skull-themed sketches. Follow this large-scale labor of love as J starts with a blank wall and creates a fantastical scene that is organic, colorful and layered with unimaginable detail.